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How many SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses are in the nose and throat of asymptomatic people, and how many are in those suffering from COVID-19? Scientists from South Korea decided to find the answer to this question. The result of the research they conducted may be disturbing.
- Coronavirus infected people have as many of these pathogens in their upper respiratory tract, nose and throat as people with COVID-19 symptoms
- In both study groups, the infection lasted almost the same long
- So far, it is not known whether asymptomatic people infect others to the same extent
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection differs from the seasonal flu, for example, in that it can be transmitted to other people even in an asymptomatic period. BBC News reports that Korean researchers have analyzed how many of these microbes are in the nose and throat of asymptomatic and COVID-19 sufferers.
Almost 1,9 thousand were performed. tests confirming the presence of coronavirus in both groups. Researchers analyzed how many of these germs are in the upper respiratory tract. It turned out that the concentration of viruses in both test groups – symptomatic and asymptomatic – is similar. Individual tests were carried out until the infection was resolved.
- One in four infected with the coronavirus has no symptoms of the disease
The results showed that the infection persisted for almost the same long in both study groups. In asymptomatic patients, the median duration of infection was 17 days, and in patients with symptoms of COVID-19 – 19,5 days. However, among the respondents there were no people with a severe course of this disease, because they were sent to other, more specialized centers.
Do asymptomatic people infect others to the same extent?
Although asymptomatic people with coronavirus have as many pathogens in their upper respiratory tract, nose, and throat as people with COVID-19 symptoms, it is not known whether asymptomatic people have the same degree of infection.
– Theoretically, having the same amount of virus in the upper respiratory tract poses a similar risk to others. However, people with COVID-19 symptoms can excrete microbes at greater distances when coughing, explains Dr. Simon Clarke of the University of Reading.
- The coronavirus affects not only the lungs. It affects all organs
Another British specialist, Dr. Andrew Preston of the University of Bath, points out that the risk of infection depends largely on the dose of the virus to which we are exposed, as well as on how long and close we have been in the company of an infected person.
Dr hab. Ernest Kuchar from the Medical University of Warsaw, chairman of the Polish Society of Vaccinology, explains that we still do not know what the infectious dose is in the case of coronavirus. The fact that we detect the virus somewhere on the surface or in the air does not prove that there is enough of it to contaminate it, he adds.
The observations so far show that in the case of coronavirus, one person can infect two or three other people on average, which is typical for droplet infections. Airborne diseases such as chickenpox and measles are much more contagious. With these infections, one person can infect from 15 to even 18 people.
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- When are you at the greatest risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus? Scientists have created the COVID-19 risk index
- Types of coronavirus tests – how do they work and how do they differ?
- 843: new infected record. «We are at war with the coronavirus. During the war, no one thinks about having a grand wedding celebration »
PAP / Zbigniew Wojtasiński